>> hello and welcome. you are watching the "journal" coming to you live from dw in berlin. >> here are the headlines this hour. van at a center-left politician is asked to form the next italian government after months of political deadlock. >> a building collapse in bangladesh leaves more than 100 dead and more than 1000 injured. >> russian political activists aleksei navalny returns to court

charged with fraud. after two months of political deadlock in italy, a new prime minister has been appointed. the deputy leader of the center- left democratic party. >> he was nominated by president giorgio napolitano, who was elected earlier this week to an unprecedented second term. >> he hopes letta will be able to put a new coalition government in place and unite parties from across the political spectrum, but it will not be easy. >> italy's political future rests on this man's shoulder. prime minister designate in rico -- enrico letta badge but italy back on the path of economic reform and growth. >> -- political reform and

economic growth. >> italy cannot wait any longer. that is why i have taken on this responsibility even though it is a heavy weight on my shoulders. what italy needs now is action. >> letta has promised to set a new course for italy. he wants to get the european union to soften its pro- austerity stance, but he also supports a strong europe. his stance on the issues has made him friends and enemies. >> he is a fairly balanced person with good sense. i hope he can form a government. >> letta has sold himself. he has simply sold himself. i am not happy. i am here to show my disappointment. >> letta is leader of italy's center-left party.

and he is also the cousin of a key ally of former prime minister silvio berlusconi, an important connection with italy's center-right. berlusconi has already announced that his party is willing to work with letta, a critical first step to building a coalition government. >> on the line from the italian capital, we are now joined by a guardian newspaper correspondent. tell us about letta and why napolitano picked him for the position. >> he is a moderate of the left, and economic liberal, and a catholic, so he sits very close to the center of the political spectrum, and for that reason, he is certainly a good choice for someone whose job is going to be to try to bring to be will parties that have never worked in government before. the democratic party on the left and the people of freedom

movement of silvio berlusconi. >> letta faces huge challenges. will he be able to deliver? >> i think the odds are in favor of his bringing it off, but it will not be easy because he also has the problem of a party behind him -- his own democratic party -- which has been tearing itself to pieces in the last few days. what we do not know is how many of the members of that party might not read delaware -- might not rebel in parliament when it comes to giving him a vote of confidence. >> officials say up to 100 people have been killed in bangladesh and more than 1000 injured after an eight-story commercial building housing, factories and shops, collapse.

>> police say factory owners had ignored warnings not to let workers into the building after structural cracks had been detected the previous day. >> rescue workers are continuing their search for survivors using heavy search for mr. -- search for heavy machinery and their vans. workers had just started their morning shift when the eight- story building collapsed. rescuers say as many as 2000 people could have been in the complex. they fear that many of the building's textile workers could still be trapped. >> my wife came here to work this morning. i heard that the building collapsed and rushed here to look for her, but i have not found her yet. >> authorities say more than 100 bodies have been pulled from the rubble.

the death toll is almost certain to rise. workers have registered complaints saying that large cracks were visible in the walls of the building. authorities notified business owners of the dangers, but those warnings were ignored. bangladesh's textile industry has experienced a boom in recent years with an influx of cash from western clothing manufacturers, but unchecked growth has further exacerbated unchecked working conditions and substandard building practices. more than 100 people were killed last november in a fire in a textile factory. bangladesh's interior ministry says the complex was built illegally and that an investigation is under way. >> moving over to business, the fortunes of two german auto industry giants were moving the markets. let's get the details from frankfurt. then a disappointing economic data -- >> disappointing data

in >> 's profit numbers, but an optimistic outlook on the year that in the numbers. managers are getting more pessimistic in general. the eiffel index dropped in april for the second month, but this could be an alarm signal -- the ifo index. this could be a signal to stimulate the economy even more by signaling the interest rate. dutch a telecom finally achieved its aim on the u.s. market. it is ready to merge with u.s. company metro pcs. >> in frankfurt, the dax was up by 1.32% to end at 7759. the euro stoxx also up by nearly 1.5%. dow jones trading at 14,706, slightly down.

the euro trading against the dollar $1.3021. >> german auto maker daimler has scrapped its earnings forecast for 2013 after first quarter earnings plunged by more than half compared to last year, down to 564 million euros. air feeling the effects of the slump on european markets. the small car division is especially struggling to keep up with the competition. luxury car sales are also down, and demand in china is weakening. it is daimler's second profit warning in six months. german companies are increasingly being targeted for takeover by foreign firms. chinese investors in particular have been on a buying spree. >> price waterhouse cooper has released a report confirming that overseas investments in germany are on the rise. >> puts mr. may sound like a traditional german company, but the concrete palm producer was acquired by a chinese investment

group in 2012. the buyout came as a major surprise. it was a healthy company and world leader in its field, but that is just the type of enterprise attracting foreign investment. in 2010, foreign companies bought out 90 german firms. in 2011, it was 100. in 2012, the number jumped to 113. foreign investors are increasingly attracted by german technical know-how and the prospect of gaining a foothold in the european market. one of those is a tiny solar panel producer that bought a majority share in a german competitor, but it has run afoul of creditors who have cancelled millions in badly needed loans. now, they are hoping for a fresh infusion of cash from china. >> in paris, overnight protests against gay marriage turn violent. riot police faced off against

demonstrators unhappy about parliament's approval of a bill that also gives gay couples adoption rights. antisocialist dominated national assembly to ratify the bill by a wide margin, but right-wing lawmakers say they are not giving in and have filed a challenge with the constitutional court to repeal same-sex adoption. >> tensions remain high in france. many opponents of same-sex marriage are angry that lesbians and gay men will be allowed to tie the knot. >> this lot in dangerous society because it affects the family. that is the nucleus of our society. changing this endangers the entire state. tolerance does not mean you can do what ever you want to do. >> the government could not disagree more. president francois hollande announced he had fulfilled a key campaign promise. he said this reform was not taking anything away from anyone and that the french people should be happy at the nation's achievement.

>> i am sure they will be proud in the coming days. maybe later. because it is a step towards modernizing our country, towards more freedom, more equality, principles that are the bedrock of our republic. >> these principles are dividing french society. in recent months, opponents of gay marriage have turned out in the hundreds of thousands. they have stress they have nothing against gays as such, but as public opposition to the bill intensifies, violence against homosexuals spiked. i'm sorry to have to show you this, but non facebook. the face of homophobia, after assailant's beat of him and his boyfriend near their parents' home. >> they yelled, "you gave dogs."

i fell to the ground, and they stomp on my head, like you would a soccer ball. >> it was not the first incident of its kind. attacks have been reported in the district in paris known for its many gay bars. in a bar frequented by gays and lesbians, and was frequently ransacked. lawmakers have at least into the political debate -- ended the debate over the political definition of marriage. opponents are appealing to the constitutional court to overturn the law. the government is confident it will pass muster. outside paris city hall, gays and lesbians celebrated the passage of the law. >> homophobia has always existed, but the conflict over this law has made it visible. lawmakers can now see what gays and lesbians experience every day in france. >> if the court throws out the

challenge, france's first wedding ceremonies could take place as early as june, but opponents also want to make a broader statement. >> people who have come here are also sick and tired of francois hollande and his policies. they want him to quit, and they despise what he is doing. >> the battle lines are drawn, and violence broke out again after the law's approval. protesters threw rocks and bottles. >> we will move things over to paris now. opposition to same-sex marriage is often on religious grounds, get france is in many ways a very secular society. how does that square? what is bringing people out on to the streets? >> it is one of the great contradictions of french society. still today over gay marriage, this legislation has brought people out on the streets because it touches upon their core beliefs.

catholics, of course, but also mainstream conservatives. protesters have been very passionate, bitterly defensive about what they call the sanctity of marriage, and it shows how effective organizers had been in appealing to people of very diverse backgrounds, many who do not usually take to the streets. >> the demographics of these protesters -- they look very young on the pictures. you would think they might be more open-minded on this topic? >> you think so, but an overwhelming majority are in favor of gay marriage. we have seen a lot of people take center stage against, though. they have been seen in a very tense standoffs with riot police. i think comedians and leaders made the protest look hip and modern, and really struck a chord among young conservatives, who are usually quiet.

>> that is all we have time for. we have to take a short break. >> when we come back, striking a balance between national security and privacy protection. >> stay tuned.

>> welcome back. in a week that saw terror attacks and foiled plots, the debate about privacy and security is back. germany's constitutional court has upheld the government's right to run an anti-terrorism database, but ordered it to make some changes in how it is operated. >> the database was set up in 2007 to help investigators crack down people like consolidating information from police and intelligence services. since then, details on 17,000 people have been collected. >> advocates have challenged the constitutionality of the database, saying there are not enough controls on how the data

is gathered and used. damage germany's highest court ruled that while terrorism is a serious threat to the state, the fight against terror does not automatically warrant a state of emergency. judges made clear that the special database is lawful in principle, but adjustments have to be made to safeguard the rights of those who come under scrutiny by investigators. >> when it comes to data gathering and breach of the constitutional right to privacy in telecommunications and homes, this information cannot simply be passed on to third parties through the database. >> the constitutional court has ordered better regulation of access to data, depending on how it was gathered. germany's intelligence agencies have greater powers to conduct covert investigations, delving deeper into the private sphere, but under the ruling, regular police can only access the information in exceptional

circumstances. >> for more on this, we now go to our political correspondent. what are the implications of this ruling? >> well, -- well, first of all, germany has some of the toughest data protection laws in europe, so whenever authorities try to intensify collection of personal data to combat terrorism, say, there is likely to be some conflict. in this case, the court says that the anti-terrorism database is ok in principle, but it is to comprehensive in practice, and it ordered a couple of changes. they want to see restrictions on who has access to that data. they want to see limiting of the scope of which persons you can collect data about, and they want to see a more robust parliamentary supervision. >> the database was, of course, initially set up to prevent any terrorist attacks from taking place in the first place in

germany. will this ruling have any impact on that? >> the answer to that question depends on who you talk to. the country's justice minister has welcomed the decision for strengthening what she calls transparency. she says it is part of an ongoing process to strike a balance between freedom and security. the head of the edk, which is a group representing criminal investigators in the country -- he says it will not make their job any easier. he says the ruling highlights the discrepancy between what the state expects law enforcement people to do and what it allows them to do. >> as always, many thanks. well, coming up, a prominent russian activists says his innocence will be proved as his trial resumes today. >> first, a look at some other stories. >> at least 21 people have died in a confrontation in xinjiang province in china. officials said police came under

attack when they searched a house for weapons. several of the dead are local muslims, who have clashed with the chinese population in the past. >> boston police officers have been paying tribute to slain colleague sean collier, who was shot dead on tuesday night at the massachusetts institute of technology by the parrot who stand accused of planting two bombs that killed three people at the boston marathon. the u.s. vice-president was among the thousands paying their last respects. >> while u.s. authorities have dropped charges against the main suspects in last week's ricin letter attacks. paul kagan curtis was accused of sending the letter is laced with the poison to president obama and several legislators -- paul kevin curtis. authorities have turned their attention to a second man connected to curtis. >> to russia now where the trial

of russian activists alexei nevalny resume. he is one of the president's most vocal critics. >> if convicted, he could face 10 years in prison and be barred from public office. the trial resumed last week after nevalny's lawyers asked for more time to study the documents. >> local prosecutors dismissed, and the charges two years ago, but moscow ordered them to reopen the case. >> security was tight at the train station ahead of the trial. russian opposition leader aleksei nevalny arrived on the night train. he is accused of embezzling some 400,000 euros worth of timber when he was an adviser to the regional government. >> i am sure that my innocence will be proved here, even if the court does not formally acknowledge it. it will be clear for everyone attending the trial. >> the media have been closely

following the proceedings. so have opposition activists. many of whom came from moscow to try to get into the court. this sign reads "putin is a thief." many of nevalny's supporters view the president as the personification of corruption. many russians have mixed feelings about the trial. >> those in power will never give in. i see this line, and i say powerful people have always been thieves. >> i can tell you the opposition is not becoming more popular here. we have a completely different set of problems than muscovites. >> in court, nevalny's attorney requested more time to review the evidence, but the judge denied the motion. the verdict is not expected for a number of weeks. >> almost everyone is expected that nevalny will be convicted, and that is not just because these charges are obviously

politically motivated. 99% of all trials in russia and in guilty verdicts, and even if nevalny will not be sent to jail, a conviction will be enough to put an end to his political ambitions. it would mean that he could not stand as a candidate, not even in local or regional elections. >> nevalny announces the trial as pure fabrication, but working out the exact truth can be tricky, much like retelling history. >> that has been the challenge for those reopening the main exhibition at the german- russian museum. the building itself has served various roles in its time. >> the pioneer school became the seat of the soviet military administration here in germany. it was a change that marked the end of the nazi rule in the second world war. >> it was on may 9, 1945, that germany's unconditional surrender was signed here, unchanged final 70 years. this was the main attraction of

the german-russian museum, the centerpiece of a unique collection of artifacts now open again to the public. >> it is crucial for us to pass on what happened for the next generations to the younger generation, and to show what the medical ideologies intolerance can lead to. >> on display, the remnants of nazi germany's devastating war on the soviet union. gas suits for children. the torn jackets of prisoners. letters and children suits from concentration camps. it shows life-and-death on both sides of the battle lines. >> our focus remains the war years from 1941 to 1945. in russia, it is referred to as the great patriarchal war. in germany, it is referred to as the war of destruction against the soviet union, and there is a lot of new research into it.

it is on the basis of those new insights that the museum is being redesigned, a museum that does not just me tell the past the stands as a warning for future generations. >> a lot of germans always thought that they had one of the best education systems in the world, but over a decade ago, an international report sent shock waves through the nation revealing well below average results for schools here. >> education is a topic for the states, and seeing as there are 16 of them, there are also 16 different ways of dealing with it. >> after years of wrangling, it looks like germany has come full circle with a nationwide study. this time, it points out the importance of individual teachers. >> the new study underscores the importance of teachers and their performance in the classroom. parents, educators, and students all said that teachers are the most important aspect of

education. committed teachers are the deciding factor for educational success according to 94% of teachers and 92% of parents. they also mostly agree that teachers should respond to individual students needs, but both groups say this is not adequately put into practice. >> the prerequisites for that are not the best in schools. there is not much opportunity to incorporate individual supervision and support for children in the context of group instruction. >> the new study also had some bad news for politicians. from self-guided steady to new grading systems, those polled said there has been too much experimentation in germany's school system. both parents and teachers agreed that schools should stick to the basics. >> the students of the same. the teachers are the same. the problems are the same. that is why we should focus on the root problems that exist in

our schools in the classroom. >> the study also underscored the role teachers played in encouraging students from socially disadvantaged groups, who lack the support critical to success. >> that is about all we have right now. thank you for being with us here on the "journal." >> stay with us. we will bring you more updates on the rescue efforts under way in bangladesh. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--